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n our day and age, the secular culture cares about only one virtue—anti-hypocrisy.
Now, before we continue, realize that I am NOT saying that being a hypocrite is good.
Please read that sentence again.
Now you may say, “Well, Amy, it’s a good thing that the culture sees hypocrisy as a bad thing.”
And I would agree with you if those that went around pointing out hypocrites right and left got the definition correct. The vast majority err in two ways.
1.) It is common these days for people to go scrounging around in your past looking for any evidence, however slight, that you said a wrong thing or lived wrongly. It is the “joy” of their hearts to drag said bad thing from the past out from the depths of time and present it to the world as evidence that you are a hypocrite.
When you say, “Yeah, but I’ve changed,” they refuse to allow for any growth or maturity. You are forever defined by past wrongs.
2.) If you say you are for something, like let’s say you are pro-life; if you don’t do EVERYTHING under the sun that pertains to pro-life issues, you are deemed a hypocrite. If you don’t give every ounce of food you have to the hungry, if you don’t house every refugee, if you don’t adopt all orphaned children on earth, if you don’t visit the elderly at all waking hours, well…you are a hypocrite.
Neither of these are the definitions of hypocrisy nor are they realistic to expect of people. A hypocrite is someone who pretends to have virtues for public approval but doesn’t actually live those virtues out in the present—IN THE PRESENT.
Of course, Catholic Pilgrims, we should always work to make sure we are not being hypocrites. Our moral standard is Christ, not those who deny a moral standard in the first place, yet love to wield it as a weapon to trap you forever.
Love the Faith boldly this Tuesday and travel well.
**Picture is of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.
Today is a day of prayer for the legal protection of unborn children. As many of you know, I got pregnant out of wedlock with my oldest in my senior year of college. When I went to confirm the pregnancy at the clinic on campus, the first and only piece of advice the nurse gave me was to get rid of my baby because she would ruin my chance at a career. No support, no compassion, nothing but the offer to kill my child. She's sitting right next to me on my right side in this picture. Our culture likes to pretend that women have this inherent right to choice. A choice to do what? End their child's life. People sometimes congratulate me for "choosing life" for my daughter. While I appreciate the intention behind the praise, it's a false assumption that I ever really had a choice to begin with. Nobody has a the right to choose to end an innocent life. Nobody has that right, especially not women whose bodies are specifically designed to grow new life in their wombs. Who does have a right, that too many neglect to see or acknowledge, are unborn children. They have a right to live and not be killed. They are dependent on their mother's body, but as any mother will tell you, even after a child is born, they are still utterly dependent on their mother's body to care for them. There has and never will be a right to choose death for unborn babies. It is a fever dream that anti-children people have cooked up in their minds and this make-believe right has resulted in over 50,000,000 babies having their lives snuffed out--and that's just in the US. So, today, we pray for the protection of these little ones who have no voice of their own. So, let us pray, Catholic Pilgrims, for an end to abortion in our country and in our world. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
Continue ReadingIn our second reading today, St. Paul is writing to the Christians in Corinth. He says, "To you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ." It was the "called to be holy" part that caught my eye. St. Paul doesn't say we can live however we want while calling ourselves a Christian. He, also, doesn't say that we are straight up holy once we become a Christian. He says we are called to be and, that means, there is some participation on our part where we must cooperate with the graces given to us by God and be obedient to Christ's teachings and the teachings of His Church. God calls us to holiness, but we do have to desire it. If we think that we are just "good to go" because we call ourselves a Christian, it will be difficult to desire holiness. I know that I once didn't even desire it because 1. nobody ever talked to me about it. and 2. I thought calling myself a Christian meant I had an assured ticket to Heaven. Consequently, I didn't try to live any differently. In fact, unless you asked me, you wouldn't have known I was a Christian based on how I lived. To be holy means that we want to live out the virtues--courage, prudence, justice, fortitude, piety, etc,-- for love of God and for love of others. We want to orient our lives to look more like Christ's and make choices that don't follow the easy way. We are called to holiness, Catholic Pilgrims. God will work with our desire to answer that call if we ask Him. Have a blessed Sunday. *Church is Mission San Juan Baptista in CA
Continue ReadingIn the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Today, in our reading from Matthew, the Trinity is revealed. At the Baptism of Our Lord, the Father speaks of His love for His Son, The Son gives us the Sacrament of Baptism, and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove letting us know that this action is sanctified. It is holy and pleasing to God. This is why we baptize in the Trinitarian formula and every single time we do the Sign of the Cross it is a beautiful reminder of our baptism and the saving grace we received from it. We must continue to cooperate with those graces throughout our life, but it/was our entrance into the family of God. So many things happen at baptism: You become a child of God and an heir to the Kingdom. Original sin is washed away and any actual sins if above the age of reason. Your soul is permanently marked as belonging to God. Your soul is filled with grace--the Divine life. You receive the three theological gifts of Faith, Hope, and Charity. You receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn't need to be baptized, but He was showing us what He wanted us to do--this was the new covenantal ritual, circumcision would not be needed anymore. Baptism is the start of our Christian life with God, Catholic Pilgrims. Through it, we are brought into the life of the Blessed Trinity. Have a beautiful Sunday.
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